The Enterprise

The Movie: The Starship Enterprise is probably the most iconic fictional spaceship of all time (though the Millenium Falcon gives it a Kessel Run for its money). In an awesome moment, the movie shows the Nibiru tribe at the beginning drawing the Enterprise in red dirt, implying that they will worship this fantastic machine as so many real life Trekkies do.

Real Life: One of our favorite projects of all time is "Build the Enterprise" Dan's promise to make a real life Enterprise by 2032. It is such a beautiful ship, and has become an inspiring symbol of what humanity can accomplish at its best. Here's the bad news: it will always be fictional. BTE Dan's plan is great in theory, but in practice, the Enterprise is not a very practical design for a spaceship. A better template to work with would be the "Discovery" from 2001: A Space Odyssey. This ship clearly uses centrifugal force to simulate artificial gravity, which is one of the top priorities for any kind of long-term space flight. BTE Dan's Enterprise might one day make an amazing orbiting theme-park for Trekkies, but the spaceships of the future will be built from science fact, not science fiction. In order to see the real deals, you, dear Mastermind, must live long and prosper.